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Pokemon Zombies

My name is Ash Ketchum.

Last week, I was traveling the Sinnoh wilderness with my pals Brock and Dawn and my best friend Pikachu. We were caught in a storm one night and sought shelter at an out of the way Pokemon Center. The four of us entered expecting to be greeted by the local Nurse Joy but there was none. The lights were on and everything was working but the Center was abandoned. There was no nurse or any Pokemon in sight. It was unusual but we were too tired to be susPicious of anything. We had figured the nurse and her chansey must have stepped out for a short while. Dawn left a note on the counter and we headed for the guest bedchamber.

I slept only for a short while on my bunk when Pikachu and I were awakened by a loud thud. Brock had fallen from of the ladder while climbing off the top. He really shouldn't squint so much, I thought. He mumbled something about getting a drink of water and dragged himself out of the room. Pikachu and I fell back asleep.

We awoke the next morning to a bright sunrise shining through the window. Pikachu leapt over to Dawn's bunk and stirred her as I stood to awaken Brock from his loftier mattress. He wasn't there.

I asked Dawn if he'd gotten up earlier but she was as clueless as I over Brock's whereabouts. She went to the adjoining bathroom to freshen up while I stepped into the hall to look for our missing friend. Knowing Brock, he had probably found Nurse Joy and was frightening her with sad, romantic advances.

Our attention was drawn to the murmur of the TV in the lobby. There was Brock, settled in a waiting room chair transfixated to whatever news story was on. I was about to ask what was so interesting but then I heard slivers of what the reporters had been saying.

Brock said something about being relieved to be in a backwater Pokemon Center.

That's when we heard Dawn screaming. The three of us ran over to the guest bathroom to find the girl wide-eyed and terror stricken, pointing her shaky finger at something lying in the shower; a half-eaten corpse, mutilated almost beyond the point of recognizing it's former identity. I say almost because, though ripped to shreds, the uniform gave it away. It--she was Joy.

Dawn couldn't believe it but Brock confirmed that it was in fact one of the many identical nurses we've come to know in our travels. And if anybody can identify a Nurse Joy, Brock can. Still, Dawn had begged the question; what could have done this?

As if to answer her, we turned our heads to see something waddle up to the doorway. It was a Chansey, and almost certainly Joy's. But there was something disturbingly wrong with that Pokemon. Its eyes were glazed over, its pink hide was tinged with a shade of gray and it's mouth was smeared with dry blood.

Dawn hadn't seen any of the news report so when she asked Brock and I what was going on, we almost forgotten that it was possible for her to remain in the dark about this terrifying new development in the world. But this wasn't quite the time to answer her. Instead I commanded Pikachu to blast away at Chansey with a thunderbolt and to not hold back.

Nor could I have done so any sooner, for the shell of a formerly gentle and friendly Pokemon lunged at me crying out in a disPairing shriek that still rings in my ears. Chansey crashed into to hallway wall beyond, burned all over and with a substantial chunk of its side blown off.

The four of us wasted no time in escaping. Within seconds, we were out of that Pokemon Center and putting as much distance between it and us as possible. A minute later, we were in the woods when I suggested we all halt and process what had just happened. In doing so, Brock explained the situation to Dawn and told me a few things as well.

The night before, he had gone to get a drink when a story on the late news had caught his attention and he had been watching it until Pikachu and I found him that morning. While we were trekking the woods, Pokemon all over Sinnoh and parts of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn were attacking other Pokemon, sPreading a bizarre new virus turning them into--for lack of a better term--zombies. Undead Pokemon sPreading the infection among their living and with it, a taste for human flesh.

It seemed to sPread fastest in cities among trained Pokemon with lots of people to feed off of, Brock concluded. That's why we haven't run into any yet in the forest. But more than anything, we were just lucky.

The four of us had been faced with the dilemma of where to turn now. I suggested we return to the Pokemon center. Dawn protested but I insisted that it was not only the single outpost of civilization within two miles, but we could fortify the building and contact help. As for the zombie Chansey, it had doubtless been sufficiently dealt with by Pikachu's thunderbolt and if not, we would continue zapping the creature until it was reduced to ashes.

If Dawn or Brock were about to argue my point, I never found out. I had no sooner finished explaining my plan than we all turned to a sound of running in the woods. Roughly a hundred yards away and up a hill, a small pack of Poochyena and Mightyeana had charged out of the bushes and made a b-line for our group. We turned tail and ran back for the Pokemon Center, not wishing to find out whether the wild Pokemon had been infected and just assumed they were.

We were not as tired as we expected to be, running away from Poochyeana pack, in fact we were invigorated deep down by the idea of running for our very lives. Even Brock who had slept the least of us. Pikachu, who was the fastest of our group, would occasionally run ahead, stop, look back, discharge a thunderbolt at the fearsome Pokemon behind us and continue running when we passed. In no time at all, the four of us had made it back to the Pokemon Center.

As we passed through the motion activated door (rather out of place for a building in a forest setting, I know) Pikachu zapped the motion detectors. Now closed, the doors would not reopen unless we pushed them apart manually--or until the Mightyena broke through the reinforced glass. It bought us a minute.

Brock and I pushed the nearest couch over against the door where we got a good look at two large Mightyena and a smaller Poochyena scratching and barking at the glass door. They were infected alright. Their coats were disheveled and patchy revealing dripping wounds and marks of decay. Those hollow, glazed eyes besPoke no sPark of life while their actions were most vigorous for the undead. Momentarily, two other Poochyena with singed coats showed up to join their fellows, obviously only grazed by Pikachu’s previous attacks.

The two of us hastened to the lobby to bring over another couch for our blockade. There stood Dawn, eyes glued to the TV and processing all the frightful information about what was going on in the world. I told her to help us but Brock persuaded me to give her a minute. In retrosPect she needed it more than we needed her to help us carry that couch. The adrenaline pumping through our bodies endowed us with enough strength to do that job well enough.

It dawned on me, though, as we doubled our furniture fortress that there were other windows and doors around the Center infected Pokemon from outside might gain entry through. None of us knew if, in their infected state, the Pokemon had a mental capacity to seek out new ways inside but we were better off safe than sorry. To quicken our efforts, Brock and I released our Pokemon from their Pokeballs. We commanded them to seek out windows and, quickly and carefully, block them off with whatever was lying around.

Brock’s Crogunk, Hapiny and Sudowoodo went down one hall while my Aipom, Turtwig and Staravia went down another. Dawn, still focused intently on the news feed, held my Pikachu in her arms. I walked over to them while Brock followed his Pokemon.

‘Is this really happening?’ she asked aloud to nobody in particular. I told her it was. I thought she would have begun to weep and break down but she did neither. Dawn only put down Pikachu, took out her Pokeballs and released own team of Piplup, Buneary, Pachirisu and Buizel. ‘We better help you.’ She said with a stern face. Who was I to argue? Before she could issue a command to her team though, Brock returned to the lobby with an alarmed look and told us that the Chansey we killed was no longer where we left it for dead.

The creature still lived! And it was stalking the very corridors our Pokemon were running through!

The shrill screams of Brock’s little Hapiny rang out from the guest room where we had sPent the night before. Its owner wasted no time running to its rescue. The rest of us weren’t far behind. Arriving on the scene, the sight that met us was even more frightening than our previous encounter with the undead Chansey for now it sPorted the disfigurements left behind by Pikachu’s point blank thunderbolt.

It was left with one arm and half a face, a substantial chunk of it’s body destroyed with charred scarring on the flesh and organs left in its stead. With that one nubby arm, undead Chansey held Brock’s Hapiny to it’s rending jaws. My horrified friend held up his Pokeball, beamed and recalled the little creature to safety, leaving its zombified assailant alone to face the brunt of our attack.

In a low, straight tone, I commanded Pikachu ‘Fry it.’ Not only did Pikachu outdo its previous thunderbolts but the effort was joined by Dawn’s Pachirisu and it’s thunderbolt. I doubt even that the hardy Chansey could have recovered from the punishment our electrical Pokemon dealt it but when Brock’s Sudowoodo rocksmashed its twitching, blackened form, what was left of it sPlattered to pieces. We had destroyed it for good.

Brock held up Hapiny’s Pokeball and whispered “You’re going to be okay.” in a low, heart felt promise.

Safe for the moment, we went to the videophones and called my old mentor Professor Oak. After some initial trouble establishing a connection, he finally answered. I’ve never seen the man so terrified and hopeless in his life. He told me, half crying that all the Pokemon at his ranch as well as my mother’s Mr. Mime became infected. Neither she or Tracey survived.

Also apparently, she had been sleeping with Tracey.

Mind you, I’m a ten year old boy. I’ll let you figure out how I dealt with that news for yourself.

Among other things, he hold us that if we intended to kill any intended Pokemon, most were vulnerable in the brains. Also, that infected Pokemon are not as powerful as healthy ones, though far more resilient. They would eat the healthy if they could but are rarely able to finish when fought back or evaded. Not that it matters much because scratched or bitten Pokemon ‘zombify’ within minutes. He warned that if any of our Pokemon are infected to destroy them immediately or recall them into their Pokeballs and throw them away. Never keep them.

At that moment, in a day full of coincidences, Brock’s Hapiny popped out of it’s Pokeball and immediately bit its owner on the hand. Brock, in shock, swung his arm about and flung the creature at Dawn’s Buizel. It all happened so fast that her Pokemon had little time to react to its snap-happy little attacker. One water pulse attack from Buizel sent Hapiny flying and crashing into a wall. Sudowoodo wasted no time waiting for the infected little Pokemon to come to. It rocksmashed the little glazy-eyed victim’s brains out.

Brock wasn’t sure whether to be more concerned that his Pokemon had been destroyed by another of his own Pokemon with no command to do so or that he himself had been infected. Professor Oak assured us that humans had so far been immune to the retrovirus. All WE had to worry about was being eaten. But Dawn’s Buizel was a hazard, he warned. We needed either to kill it or recall it to its Pokeball and throw it away. From the looks of it, the Pokemon wouldn’t let us do either.

I was surprised that Dawn handled that so well. If the Japanese were writing this, (thankfully, you are!) Dawn would be halfway to Kanto by now But anyways, great story! Very original, I mean, come on, Zombified Pokemon!!

Well thank you all for the kind words everyone.
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Chapter 3

Buizel’s actions were motivated by its new affliction but out of pride and fear. Pride in its self and its personal strength and the fear of what it would soon become. That’s why none of us were surprised when Buizel knocked us all down with a water gun attack at the sight of Dawn’s raised pokeball and dashed into the hallway.

Professor Oak reminded us over the increasingly poor reception that we only had a couple of minutes before Buizel would turn. And then static. We would have no more contact with the outside world.

Dawn fell to her knees and breathing heavily, began weeping. I wanted to put my hand on her shoulder and assure her that everything would be okay but we both knew it wouldn’t. Nothing would ever be okay again. Brock, meanwhile wrapped his hand up in some bandage he found. All of our Pokemon, except Buizel gathered back around us in the guest room. They were each recalled to their Pokeballs. We couldn’t afford another incident like the previous two.

“We have a job to do.” Brock reminded us. Dawn knew what he meant but couldn’t stand the thought of killing her Buizel, even if it was infected. She tried to keep a straight face but could last for only so long. I don’t think I could have handled myself any better if it had been Pikachu that was contaminated with that awful zombie virus. But then we saw something that nobody really exPected.

Buizel had come out of hiding from behind a pile of boxes and stood in front of us. It’s breathing was labored and it grew shaky but from what we interpreted of its act, it stood in our midst ready to relegate itself to whatever fate we offered.

A second later, no choice we would have made could have made any difference. A huge zombified Nidoking charged through the glass doors and couches as though they had been paper mache. At its heels were the Poochyena pack whose eager barks must have attracted the behemoth from out of the woods. Wild Nidoking are rare in Sinnoh, mind you, so I imagine that this one had tasted the flesh of its own trainer not very long ago.

Buizel, still retaining some of his own personality turned from us and blasted at the hungry beast with a Water Pulse, weak by its previous standards but strong enough to by us some time. Brock, Pikachu and I ran into the cafeteria. Dawn hesitated a moment to thank her Buizel for that last selfless act and waited a second for any resPonse which never came. Buizel’s struggle to maintain control of its mindset finally came to an end when the infuriated Nidoking grabbed our late defender and tore it in half with one bite. I ran back to grab on of Dawn’s hands, both of which clasPed over her mouth in shock, and drag her back to through the doors with us.

We passed through the small cafeteria and ran into the adjoining kitchen. Not that it made much of a difference but we locked the door. The three of us and Pikachu huddled in the farthest corner. We put our arms around Dawn who sat between us. For a while, nobody said anything. We weren’t too afraid to sPeak or anything but the silence was golden anyway. Finally an idea hit me. “The attic.” I whisPered. “This Pokemon Center has two floors. I think the stairwell was in the far end of the hallway outside. We’d be safer if we can get there.”

The problem, Brock reminded me, was the man-eating obstacles outside. Still, the idea was a good one assuming we could find an opportune moment to get past our would-be antagonists. Stifling her tears, Dawn agreed. Buizel gave what little life it had so that we could survive. She started to rise but I quickly dragged her back down to the floor at the sight of a gray horn appearing behind the small glass window in the door. Zombie Nidoking had tracked us down so we got down on our bellies and crawled up behind the refrigerator. Slowly, the door opened admitting first the two Mightyena and finally the enormous Nidoking.

This wasn’t Jurassic Poke’. There weren’t several tables and pantries for us to crawl around and hide in. Within seconds they would find our huddling little group cowering in a secluded corner of that tiny kitchen. We had one option and nary a moment to decide whether or not to go through with it. I pulled out my Turtwig and Staravia’s Pokeballs. Brock and Dawn shook their heads as they caught on with my plan. I guess I always was too impulsive for the tastes of most.

Quickly, I stood up and released my two Pokemon. Of Turtwig I commanded a Leech Seed attack on all three and from Staravia a series of Gust attacks. The Mightyena were restrained but when Leech Seed’s creepers emerged and tried covering Nidoking, the beast only ripped them off. Staravia’s Gust had apparently angered it as well and as the great zombie prepared to lunge at my bird Pokemon beating its wings, a bolt of lightening exploded from behind me and connected with Nidoking. It had been a noble effort on Pikachu’s part but Nidoking, even when zombified, are immune to electrical attacks.

By staying there for a second more than necessary, we were tempting fate. At my cue, Brock and Dawn got off the floor and followed me around the restrained and stunned zombie Pokemon. We all made it to the door into the cafeteria where we found the many Poochyena and the now fully turned Buizel’s torso dragged around by its arms. Staravia had continued blowing them all out of our path when one of the Poochyena pounced on it from behind and took my bird down. The other two joined in the feast.

It finally happened and I lost one of my Pokemon to this onslaught but there was no time to hesitate and think about it. Mournful reflection could be afforded later.

We reached the hall, the stairwell and the attic within seconds. Brock’s Sudowoodo rocksmashed the steps after we ascended them to prevent any of the monsters below from following us. Monsters. Indeed. I cursed out loud at nothing in particular. I had lost a cherished friend just now. A friend who might now possibly come back and try to eat me.

Our plan had worked. After a morning of death and desPair at every turn, we finally got a chance to catch up on some rest. The few hour that followed were peaceful by comparison. Brock fell asleep within minutes on a mat he found and unrolled. Dawn and I found some granola bars for breakfast. We weren’t hungry but we knew we would be.

We sPent the rest of that morning trying to ignore the frightful sounds from downstairs and discussing many things from the fates of loved ones to the end of the world. I won’t bore you with the details. We wondered if anywhere would be safe. Then, something caught Dawn’s attention. With a tinge of optimism in her eyes she stood and walked over to the window, motioning me to follow. I did as she bade and seeing what had given her hope, I was forced to half smile. “We just might be saved after all.”
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Oh.My.Gosh. Zo9mbie pokemon?! This story is the scariest story I have ever read. My heart is puonding so fast right now. But these stories...are pure geineuse! Imean, for me it's rare to see a scary story that makes me feel sad, shocked, and really, really, REALLY surprised. Usually, scary movies take that role. I can't wait to read the next chapter! Whew, I've gotta see what happens next.

Without warning, the floor quaked violently and gave way where we stood. I leapt back just in time but Dawn fell through. Down below, the Nidoking must have heard our footsteps and with some degree of reasoning we had previously thought was lost in these zombies, did something terribly clever; It smashed the wall directly below the window we stood in front of, thus destroying our portion of the attics wooden floor. It was only by some marvelous stroke of luck that Dawn’s little backpack snagged itself on one of the wooden floor board.

There she hung, susPended over the myriad of zombified Pokemon below. The only one missing for the moment had been the Nidoking who was still outside and just slightly dazed from crashing through that wall. In another moment, it would return. In another moment, the board would give out to the fear stricken weight of her shaking. Dawn didn’t have another moment. I grabbed her hand just as the board snapped. Though she now swung around beneath me, I held on as best I could. Then a bold Mightyena leapt up from below and caught her boot in it’s snapping jaws.

That would have been it for the two of us had Brock not grabbed me and helped us pull ourselves back up. Mightyena refused to release her boot and so kept it as Dawn’s slender foot slid out. Not a second before, though, Nidoking returned below and when Mightyena fell back it impaled itself on the beast’s sPines.

It wouldn’t be long, we realized, before this entire Pokemon center would crumble to the ground. And though it was a long shot, we had just been given a golden opportunity of escape. Quickly, we scaled a small ladder, opened a trapdoor and made it to the roof. The four of us then jumped and screamed and waved our arms.

Team Rocket’s ridiculous Meowth balloon was looming closer and closer. That inept yet villainous trio we had long considered our enemies were now our only hope. Jessie, James and Meowth appeared surprised to see us alive. Their following reaction, I suppose, could have been exPected. With the flick of a switch on Meowth’s control panel, a large robotic arm, tipped in a hand with a rubber glove extended from a compartment on the bottom of their basket, reached down and snatched my Pikachu.

As it pulled my little friend up, the three of us remained on that roof helpless and angry. For me, it wasn’t even so much that they had stolen my Pikachu; They’ve stolen Pikachu hundreds of times and had always been promptly defeated afterwards. No, this time it was something different. This time, my anger focused on the fact that in such apocalyptic circumstances, they were still playing these idiotic, cartoonish villain roles.

“What the hell is wrong with you jerks!?” I cried aloud to them. “Don’t you know what’s going on in the world right now!? Pokemon everywhere are turning on humans and turning into soulless zombies! We’re going to die if you lave us here, Team Rocket! We’re going to die!”

“Of course we know what’s going on!” James called back down to me.

“We were battling a horde of those monsters just this morning!” Jessie continued.

“Do you think all this time we’ve sPent trying to sack that yellow rat is about to go in vain?” James asked.

“We swore dat we would catch dat Pikachu if it was da last thing we ever did! And if it is, so be it!” Meowth explained. “Sure maybe dis wasn’t da most fruitful way to sPend our lives but we never gave up and we finally got what was coming to us!”

“Wait!” Dawn protested. “You said you battled infected Pokemon this morning! What happened to your Pokemon?”

“Oh what do YOU care?” Jessie growled. “There’s no shame in admitting our Pokemon got creamed by those things! They were crazy!”

“We were going to drop them off at this Pokemon center for some quick healing but you twerps made it made it pretty clear not to land here!” added James. “Thanks for the heads up!”

They didn’t know. Team Rocket --those idiots-- still had their Pokemon with them! “Get rid of your Pokeballs!!!” I screamed in warning. “Now!!!”

“Zip it, brat!” Meowth sneered. “We ain’t takin’ no orders from you!”

Just then, Jessie’s Wobuffet popped out of its Pokeball. It did that a lot but this time there was something different in its demeanor. Before she could finish her mild insult and recall the thing, it turned on Jessie and bit her face off. Meowth and James were terror-stricken. The latter called out his Carnivyne and Cacnea and commanded them to attack the maddened Wobbuffet. Instead, as always, Cacnea turned back to squeeze James and Carnivyne chewed up on his head. His protests were no more serious than usual at first but it soon become abundantly clear that James’ Pokemon were in fact eating him too. His screams grew louder and a moment later, his Mime Jr. with Jessie’s Seviper and Dustox, all escaped from their Pokeballs to turn on their two trainers.

In a mad dash of hope, Team Rocket jumped out of their balloon into the forest below but their former Pokemon followed them. Only Meowth remained in the balloon now. Now, Meowth was always an arrant coward who only knew a couple of scratch based attacks himself. Motivated by terror and insecurity perhaps, he released my Pikachu from it’s holding compartment to try and strike up a partnership.

Pikachu, instead, Iron Tailed his face, knocking him out cold. Then, taking over the balloon’s control panel, once again extended that giant robotic arm. This time it grabbed the edge of the crumbling Pokemon Center’s roof. Smart Pikachu.

Crumbling it had been, indeed. During our confrontation with Team Rocket, the zombified Nidoking below was still maddened with hunger and crashing through every wall in building. Its attempt to knock down the whole building would soon have come into fruition and brought down the three of us. Luck was on our side, however. Dawn, Brock and I climbed the robotic arm easily and hopped into the shelter of the basket. We withdrew the machine and within seconds, the Pokemon Center caved in on a very disappointed Nidoking.

Again, we were safe. But none of us knew for how long.

Meowth came to. Seeing us, he promptly began crying and begging for us to sPare him. In truth, I don’t think any of us even considered throwing him overboard but suddenly it seemed like a very good idea. However, with the world’s end looming on the horizon, we had decided to take pity on the pathetic creature. After all, he had lost everything already. We could at the very least leave him with his life for as long we had ours.

Meowth sighed a breath of relief. Taking perch atop the basket as the rest of us slunk down tired inside of it, he reassured us that as long as we remained in the air, we’d remain safe.

A bird Pokemon then swooped in between the ropes and carried him off in its talons. We all stood up and watched as our new friend was carried off screaming by a zombified Staravia. MY zombified Staravia.